How to Find Your Career Magnets & Ditch Your Career Allergies

You know you want to change direction in your career – the work no longer satisfies you and you’re looking for something more challenging / creative/ varied / flexible / interesting / energizing / collaborative / dynamic / meaningful ….. in fact, something more you!

You might have been chasing this particular rabbit round the track for some time without finding out what you’re really looking for. It’s exhausting! It’s also disheartening and sometimes you lose hope – can I really make change happen?

If this sounds familiar – and I’ve been there myself so I know what this mental and emotional tangle feels like – I have 3 suggestions and 2 observations to help you fall in love with your career change all over again!

First, the 2 observations

1. A successful career change needs 3 things:

a process that is proved to work

+ a mindset that will drive you on and sustain you through every maze, quagmire and dead end

+ supporters who will cheer you on when the going gets tough and celebrate your wins

2. You need to be ready to put in the work! There’s no getting around this one – committing time, energy and sometimes money to this pivotal campaign is the best way to realize the successful change you’re looking for. Don’t be guilty of spending more time planning your holiday than creating the kind of life and work you’re longing for!

Now my 3 suggestions to re-energise your career change

Step 1: Know what you want

Sounds easy doesn’t it? But actually this is where most failed career changers flounder. I don’t mean you have to be laser-clear on the exact role you’re looking for right now (if you were, you wouldn’t be reading this!) but it does mean you have to know why you’re experiencing this increasingly urgent push to escape your current work.

Unless you are ready to get closely acquainted with what *drives you, energises and absorbs you, what gives purpose and meaning to your work and uses your best talents, you won’t be able to get your ideal work into focus at all.

Create your Work Magnets List

Find a blank page and start filling it with what you need and want in your work. If you like structure, try using the key aspects I listed above as headings (*drives you etc), and if you prefer a more free-form approach, just slap it all down. Give yourself 5 minutes to get as much down as you can, then leave your Career Magnet List in sight and add to it in the days ahead – my experience is that ideas emerge when you’re not forcing them, so after the initial download, be prepared for ideas and desires to surface at moments when you’re not looking! You’ll then have a list of your work magnets – the things that light you up, engage you and give you a real buzz.

Step 2: Know What you Don't Want - Your Work Allergies List

What’s pushing you away rom your current work? Is it the people, the structure, the work itself? What drains you, bores you, overwhelms you or frustrates you beyond belief? What have you simply grown out of? Follow the same steps as for your Magnet List and let this take shape over a few days. You’ll then have a clearer idea of what you don’t want in the next phase of your career.

These 2 steps bring clarity – what you are attracted to and repelled by. The laws of Physics apply to work too!

Step 3: Find Your Flow

Now dive into your Magnet List with a focus on what engages, energises and challenges you (just the right amount). You’re aiming to Find Your Flow – the activities that for you make time stand still, absorb you totally and channel your best skills – this is your gold-mine of what your ideal work could look like.

Don’t let the cold wind of negativity into this process – there’ll be time later to check ideas against their potential to earn you money or translate into future work. This stage is about getting in touch with what work truly fulfills you – it’s worth a bit of commitment I think!

To help you give this exploration the time and focus it deserves, I’ve written an e-guide to ‘Finding Your Flow’ - download it directly from my website, Freestyle Careers.

Then just start!

Remember the 3 vital components of a successful career-change –

Process + Mindset + Supporters

The 3 steps in this article help you to get started with a proven process – if you need more help with all three components and want to give your career change your full attention, why not jump over to explore my comprehensive Career Change Coaching Programme or my Values Discovery Package – both are designed to empower you to make your ideal work a reality.

Whether you believe change is possible or whether you believe you’re trapped for good – in some ways, both are true. That’s the power of mindset.